NCAA Board Appointment Negates Civil Aviation Act 2006-AOAN

Aircraft Operators Association of Nigeria (AOAN), has said that the recent appointment of board of directors of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) by President Goodluck Jonathan on the advice of Aviation Minister, negates the Civil Aviation Act, 2006.

The Association faulted the appointment basically on the number of people to be appointed to the Board of NCAA.

According to the memo signed by Captain Mohammed Joji, secretary general of AOAN, the law allowed eight (8) persons excluding the Director General of NCAA to be on the Board.

However, 11 persons were announced and approved for the Board of NCAA ,which was a clear violation of the extant Act.

Part III: The Governing Board of the Authority; the Civil Aviation Act 2006, signed into law by the Senate on the 9th November 2006 and both the House of Representatives, the Clerk of the National Assembly and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 14th November, 2006 clearly stated the composition of the Board including the number of persons allowed to be on the Board.

The objection of the Association contained in a memo to the National Assembly noted specifically that:" We are strongly opposing the appointment of Captain Edward Boyo, the Chief Executive of Overland Airways, and a current Airline Operator. Capt., Edward Boyo's appointment clearly indicates a conflict of interest."

AOAN added "Besides, Captain Boyo is also the Proprietor of Landover Aviation, a consulting company. It is his company that was given the concessioning of the new General Aviation Terminal in Abuja; A terminal that was built by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), with government funding. Furthermore, the concessioning did not go through the usual tender".

AOAN further noted that the purchase of controversial limousine packed at the TRACON site was for the use of the GA Terminal in Abuja operated by Boyo's company but built with government fund.

It went on:" We also objected to the appointment of any person who has interest in Airline business either directly or indirectly. As a corollary to this is that, a Chief Executive Officer of a Bank cannot be in the Board of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to avoid a conflict of interest".

Concluding, AOAN said: "The regulator must be allowed to work without any influence with the Board of the Authority".